Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Asia & Pacific to overtake North America in 4G/LTE subscriptions as global adoption exceeds 50 million subscribers in 2012

The Asia & Pacific region is poised to overtake North America this year in number of 4G/LTE subscribers, thanks to large gains in South Korea and Japan, according to Parks Associates.

Parks Associates' new report Driving 4G Adoption: Global Mobile Innovation finds Asia & Pacific will claim over 53% of all 4G/LTE subscribers by the end the year, helping push the total number of subscribers over 560 million globally by 2016.

“Fifteen carriers in Asia & Pacific now have live LTE services, with affordable pricing models that prompt robust subscriber growth in this region,” said Harry Wang, Director, Digital Health and Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. “Mobile operators worldwide have committed to 4G/LTE as the network technology of the future, but financial conditions, handset costs, and spectrum license availability will all influence the pace and scope of regional deployments.”

Parks Associates research:

Global 4G/LTE subscribership will increase from 9 million in 2011 to over 560 million in 2016.

In 2016, 4G/LTE subscribers will account for only 8.8% of worldwide mobile subscriptions.

More than 50% of U.S. broadband households have at least one smartphone.

61% of U.S. mobile phone users have some knowledge of the term “4G,” but only 20% understand the term “LTE.”

As of June 2012, 83 carriers have launched LTE networks in 43 countries; 40 more carriers intend to deploy LTE by year end.

Kent added that operators must control costs through network optimization and capture new market opportunities by offering consumers compelling value-added services and expanding their presence into the M2M market.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes the Internet of Things (IoT), digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.